A guide to having Dry January 2025
Article SUMMARY
Synopsis – This article on Dry January looks into why this trend has become so popular. The article digs into three topics including the variety of non-alcoholic drinks on offer, the sober celeb endorsement and the benefits to giving up alcohol in the short term. If you are looking for advice, guidance and tips to cope over Dry January this should help.
I’ve been writing content and reviews about non-alcoholic drinks for almost five years now, covering 100’s of alcohol-free drinks from wine and beer to mocktails and cider.
As such with my involvement in the alcohol-free community it’s no surprise that an increasing number of people who want to get involved in Dry January in 2025 have begun to ask me what is the best alternative to some of their alcoholic favourites.
However let me take a step back, if you are unaware of the trend that is Dry January, it was started over a decade ago by ‘Alcohol Change UK‘ which aimed to promote the physical and mental health benefits of giving up alcohol for a month.
Interestingly data from TheSpiritsBusiness indicates just under a whopping 16 million British people are looking to have an alcohol-free start to the year and according to Statista the majority of those looking to get involved will be in their early 20’s.
Why is Dry Jan so popular in 2025?
I believe there are three main reasons why Dry January has increased in popularity:
A) Over the past few years there has been an enormous amount of high-quality non-alcoholic drinks introduced to the market which are not only stocked at online specialists such as Wise Bartender but also supermarkets and pubs.
B) There has been an increasing number of endorsements from celebrities for not drinking alcohol as well as a burgeoning portfolio of celebs who have created their own non-alcoholic drinks brand.
C) The younger generation has become very focused on a healthy lifestyle which can be seen across social media; so it’s no surprise that a trend like Dry January would be seen as a positive one for them to participate.
I’ll look into all these three points above in order.
Fantastic variety of non-alcoholic drinks
As mentioned up top I’ve reviewed many different non-alcoholic drinks (almost 250) over the past years and the range continues to grow. New alcohol-free drinks appear across the globe, sadly some don’t make it but others become successful award winners.
All this choice means heading into Dry January doesn’t have to be so tough. If you were a fan of gin, no worries there’s a decent alcohol-free alternative. Enjoy your Prosecco, no worries there’s a booze-free version. Like having a stout by a roaring fire? Well, Guinness 0.0 will have you covered. Whatever your tipple of choice there is a suitable alternative … and it’s one of the reasons I made my drink selection tool to help you find your perfect drink.
Along with the variety of drinks, it’s great to see that supermarkets have begun to take this sector seriously. I live in London so can’t comment on the state of American stores but here, Ocado and Sainbury’s have always been good supermarkets for non-alcoholic drinks. Recently though Tesco have got in on the act and has increased its range of no and low-alcohol-free drinks by 30% this year.
Of course, non-alcoholic online specialists such as WiseBarTender and TheAlcoholFree in the UK and ProofNoMore and Drizly in the US are great places to test out new products over Dry January.
Celebrities endorsing non-alcoholic drinks
When I started researching this topic I was genuinely quite shocked about how many celebs have either a) given up alcohol or b) started their own non-alcoholic drinks brand. There are several musicians and celebrities who have jumped on the non-alcoholic bandwagon and launched their own brands some of which I’ve reviewed this year.
Actress Blake Lively (Gossip Girl, Deadpool and Wolverine) launched Betty Buzz, a collection of non-alcoholic beverages including a smoked lemonade mocktail and an apple, ginger sour cherry mocktail.
Love him or hate him Jeremy Clarkson launched his Hawkstone beer which includes a non-alcoholic lager – Hawkstone Spa.
The Rock launched ZOA, a range of drinks that use quality and natural ingredients including Camu Camu as well as a range of electrolytes and vitamins.
Finally, the legend of the pop world, Kylie, recently launched a non-alcoholic sparkling rose wine which wasn’t too bad.
The stigma around not drinking is gradually becoming a thing of the past so it is great to see a number of celebrities coming out as teetotal (or have been abstinent from alcohol their whole life).
Some of the more famous actors and musicians include …
Anne Hathaway (actress) | Calvin Harris (DJ) | Elle MacPherson (model) | Robert Downey Jr (actor) | Lance Armstrong (cyclist) | Lana Del Rey (musician) | Lewis Hamilton (driver) | Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) | Tom Holland (actor) | Tyra Banks (model) … and many many more.
Benefits of not drinking alcohol
As you might imagine ongoing consumption of alcohol can have a significant impact on your mental and physical well-being so giving it up, even for a short period (ahem – Dry January) can have a positive effect.
Here are some sobering facts to help set the scene. You may know that alcohol is a toxin in the body but did you know it kills off all those vital microorganisms? According to the WHO an estimated 40,000 people a year (in the UK alone) die from alcohol consumption including seven different types of cancer such as bowel and liver . So what are the main benefits to giving up alcohol in Dry January?
Your Energy
In the short term, you’ll notice an immediate impact on mood primarily due to better a night sleep and increased energy. Alcohol can alter and mess up a bunch of internal processes that minimise feelings of anxiety and depression so stopping this should have a positive effect.
Your Biology
As you can imagine there are multiple health benefits and here are a few big ones. One, your liver will thank you as it doesn’t have to work as hard. Two, your blood pressure should see a positive impact (research has shown that just a month into abstaining from alcohol can help lower both heart rate as well as blood pressure). Three. by avoiding alcohol you will help your immune system to fight off all those bugs, and there are plenty of them out there at the moment!
Your Appearance
Giving up the booze will improve your appearance. Why? Well along with better sleep (see above) when you stop drinking alcohol you’ll increase the levels of anti-diuretic hormones meaning more hydrated skin less hydrated skin.
I’m no clinical practitioner just a lowly content creator so for further information on alcohol and the impact on the body I suggest checking out Alcohol Change or Drink Aware.
Having a successful Dry January
Well, I hope I’ve given you some food for thought when it comes to Dry January. I know many many people who tried Dry January last year, stuck it out for the month and are now either non-drinkers or just drink on the odd occasion. Essentially you do you but I wish you all the best over this festive period and have a great new and sober New Years.
Check out this article I wrote on how to get through Dry January successfully.
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